A 59 year old Florida woman has died after being in a diabetic coma for 42 years. For 37 of those years, her mother stayed faithfully at her bedside, turning her over every two hours. For the last 5 years, the sister of the now deceased woman has performed the watch.

It's a sad story. The mother felt that her daughter was happy despite the coma, and chose to keep her alive and devote her own life to the daughter's care. The mother felt the presence of another mother in the room with her- that presence, she thought, was the mother of Jesus.

Author Wayne Dyer wrote a book about the mother's promise to always be there for her daughter.

These facts are gleaned from an LA Times article on the death:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-woman-dies-after-42-years-in-coma-at-home-20121123,0,735117.story

In 2005, the LA Times wrote a feature piece on both the woman in the diabetic coma, and the story of another mother who chose to end life support for her son after 12 years of being in a coma following a motorcycle accident at 25. The contrast between the two stories makes interesting reading:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obara-column-one-20121123-m,0,4503559.story?page=1

When we think life is hard, it is stories like these that make you think some more. Perhaps the first mother was delusional in thinking her daughter could feel happiness, yet even the other mother who ended life support still waited 12 years to do so. Letting go must be very hard for a mother. If I am in a coma, feel free to let me go! But when...???

I think that it is inhumane to let someone live in that state that long. I read that story too this morning on the LATimes website and I was actually more angry than anything else.

Well long and longer, these mothers really show power of love.